Thinking Differently

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

THINKING DIFFERENTLY

Matt 11:20-24

20 Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21 "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."

NIV

It is not that the sin in our lives has gone completely, but we have repented so these words are more as a warning against the refusal to repent. First, we need to have a full understanding of what is meant by repenting. The Greek word means to think differently or afterwards. We do not know much about some of these cities, but we know that Capernaum was a wealthy prosperous city and Jesus did many of his miracles within the area of Capernaum. Jesus is making the compassion of either being lifted up to the skies, heaven or sent to the depths, hell. It is doubtful that an entire city would go either to heaven or hell, so there is another meaning we should explore. Could this being brought down to the depths mean the prosperity of the city will dwindle to nothing? It will lose its economic importance. This goes directly to not wanting to change the way they think about their morals and social graces which Jesus taught about in their synagogues and from a boat along the shore, and on the mount, not far from Korazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. Having a change in mind, to think about the things of God. We all live in accordance with the way we think. If we think along the lines of the Old Testament law to find right standing with God, we will then make every effort to live under the rules and regulations of the law, but then we also have to know that breaking one, means we have broken the whole and there is no hope then of right standing with God, so then we go on to think that life is better served by serving self, seeking fame and fortune. Capernaum was this kind of city, wealth was important. The people must have stopped, somewhere in the course of time, trusting in God and put more trust in their own futile thinking. Jesus showed them the divine and the truth, but they refused to think any differently. We have to ensure we are never in that situation, for we have already changed the way we think. We believe in God and have accepted His grace, His act of graciousness of sending Jesus to pay the price for our sin. Once we thought differently, we did not trust God, in fact, we were opposed to God, in some sense, opposed to the idea of God, as we served ourselves to the utmost. However, because of the miracle that Jesus did in our lives, we changed our thinking, we repented, we turned from one way of living to another. This parallel of being lifted up or thrown down does apply to us as individuals and again, there is something to be said about being lifted up. This could be seen as in the rapture, or as the moment of our last breath. But it also can be seen in daily life. God lifts up the humble, but the proud are cast to the ground. Again, we have to be careful to not be proud of our lives, even thinking of how “Good” a Christian we think we are. Those cities were proud of their success, much the same many cities today think. They boast of their commerce and high-paying job opportunities to draw people to them. There are false teachers today who what believers to think God is a source for prosperity and wealth, to live well, to be a success. Pride will always come before the fall. We cannot be prideful about anything in this life other than we have decided to think differently and humble ourselves before the Lord. We are completely dependent on Him for all things in this life and the life to come.